[HP]Aluet

"Riddle..." There was a hazy shadow in front of my eyes, I wanted to reach out and grab his sleeve, but I couldn't lift my hand, my brain seemed to be injected with anesthetic, heavy and numb, after a long time After the trance, my limbs began to regain consciousness, and my right arm was throbbing with my entire chest. I blinked and squeezed the tears from my eye sockets. I was finally able to see the world in front of me clearly and feel the Gravity pulling me down.

I was lying on St. Mungo's hospital bed, beside Minerva with an anxious face. When she saw me wake up, tears dripped from the corners of her red eyes, and she patted my left hand lightly.

"You're finally awake, Ashley." She said, "Fortunately, Fletcher found us. He said he was eager to find you, but found you missing, and thought you might have gone to the place on the drawing. ..."

My neck was so stiff that I couldn't twist it, I just nodded imperceptibly, looking pained.

She reached out to help me wipe the tears off my face: "When you got there, you fainted on the ground, we sent you here secretly, and asked acquaintances to reserve a separate room for you, so that they don't have to check your identity. We asked the therapist we know to show you, your injury is a bit serious, Ashley... But you don't have to worry, I think it will get better after a while."

She wanted to feed me the potion, but I couldn't move at all, and I couldn't lift my head. Even if I touched it a little, my whole body was numb with pain. I took the potion with my left hand, tilted my head and put it into my mouth a little bit, coughing and choking. several times.

The broken and damaged bones began to grow and repair, and the knife-like feeling made me frown.

"My injury is hard to fix, isn't it?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Oh—no, it's okay." She hesitated, "Your injury was basically blasted by the aftermath, and there were many stones and sand stuck in your wound, which have been cleaned up for you. It can heal part of your wounds, but the area near the back has been impacted by black magic damage, and that part of the wound may not be healed in a while."

"How long am I going to lie here?" I looked at the ceiling, my voice hoarse.

"I don't know . . . " she answered. "Maybe months."

"Hmm." I responded with difficulty.

"I still have class in the afternoon. I'll see you later. You should have a good rest. If you need anything, just press this button." She pointed to a groove beside the bed.

"it is good."

After Minerva left, I didn't move at all, and lay quietly. The long-term effects of Bone Spirit's medicine had almost made me used to this feeling.Even though it was daytime, the curtains were closed so the interior didn't look too bright.After a while, I became a little tired. I closed my eyes and fell asleep. I didn't wake up until the sound came from my side again.

"I brought you some savory pies and oatmeal. I wanted to buy something else, but maybe it's not convenient for you at the moment." Minerva hurriedly opened the door and walked in like a gust of wind.

I carefully drank a few mouthfuls of porridge.

I lay flat on my back without saying a word, and Minerva sat beside me and watched me.Her expression was worried, and she seemed to want to ask something, but the air was eerily quiet all the time.

"You saw him? He hurt you, didn't he?"

My heart twitched in pain, but my expression didn't change.

"Who?" I asked lightly.

Minerva was silent for a moment.

"During the day...you kept chanting his name in your dreams."

"I do not know."

"You never said your..."

"say what?"

Minerva choked and spoke again after a while: "You're playing stupid, Ashley."

The door was pushed open again, and this time it was Dumbledore who entered.Minerva glanced back at him and stood up.

Dumbledore nodded at her, motioning for her to leave first, and Minerva stepped out, closing the door behind her.He glanced at the unmoving food, then sat down on the stool.

"Didn't eat much, aren't you hungry?" He pointed to the table.

I shook my head.

He and I looked at each other calmly, and from those deep blue eyes, I could only see the waterless ocean near dusk.

After a long time, he finally spoke again.

"A long time ago," he read out the first syllable slowly, I listened quietly, maybe because there was no influence from any external environment, nor was it dominated by any emotion at this time, I suddenly realized that his voice had already It's getting a little old, just like the gray beard on his face, it's hard to ignore.But every day in the past, I didn't notice it. "I witnessed a young boy go nowhere."

My heart revived very slowly, and I began to feel it beating little by little in my chest.This feeling didn't make me feel any vitality, I opened my lips slightly, trying to relieve the sudden suffocation.

"I tried to save him in vain," he continued after a long pause of more than ten seconds, "but I found that I couldn't."

Warm liquid ran down my numb face.

"I should have known that he was much more determined than I imagined." His beard twitched, "So I made another choice."

"Good and evil have different paths, but they grow from the same root. These two paths must be ruthless, and the vacillation is painful. Standing on the top of the mountain, one will feel cold and lonely. Although the scenery at the foot of the mountain is desolate, it may be more comfortable, but hanging Teetering on the edge of a cliff will only be torn apart by the harsh wind, falling apart. Everyone can find the path that suits them best, but just don't put yourself in the misery."

My tears flowed endlessly in silence, but my facial muscles were too rigid to express any emotion, and I simply closed my eyes.

I understand that I don't need any explanation, he understands how I feel.Although I don't know why, just from his eyes and tone, I am sure of this.

How could I not know the reason, I thought I was firm enough, but there was always something holding my hands and feet and slowing down my thinking. I wanted to get rid of these, but I couldn't.

"I went to investigate Tom's life experience. Merope used some means to keep old Tom by her side, thus giving birth to this child. So after waking up, old Tom left her without hesitation." Dumbledore His tone was still calm, with a faint sigh embedded in it, "I used to think that love could touch everything, and I thought that the environment at Hogwarts could change him, but in fact..."

My eyelashes fluttered and I opened my eyes.

"Tom's a love potion, Ashley. He doesn't understand love."

Enduring the intense pain, I turned my head away.

"I want to get out of here, Dumbledore," I said weakly.The pain made my voice tremble uncontrollably, "Go find... find Dorcas." Tears fell on my unhealed shoulder, I hissed unbearably, my teeth chattered uncontrollably, "Dorcas S Meadows."

Dumbledore said nothing more.

I was alone in a small, empty room, digesting complicated emotions.

I met Dorcas on Saturday as I wished.She saw my injury, and there was a little surprise in her eyes.

It was the second time we met, but she helped me out.She didn't fully heal my wounds either, but I've definitely improved a lot.

"Thank you, Dorcas," I said to her when it was just me and Dorcas in the room, "thanks for your willingness to help me."

"I'm a little curious," she said lightly, "how did you cause such a serious injury?"

I shook my head, choosing to avoid the subject.

"Every day, many people are injured as seriously as me or worse. This is just an accident. It is normal to get some injuries in this special period." I said.

She didn't ask any more questions.

I looked at her as if she was thinking about something with her eyes lowered——I thought, she was just a fifteen or sixteen-year-old child, how had she ever experienced a war?It dawned on me that she shouldn't have seen such a horrific injury before.

"Don't be afraid..." I said as softly as possible, "Hogwarts is safe, Dorcas."

"I'm not afraid." She retorted casually.I raised my hand to straighten her upturned collar, and she shrank back a little, as if subconsciously trying to avoid it again, but she still didn't do that.

I knew that I had troubled her by bringing her here, and I was afraid of delaying her time, so it didn't take long before she left St. Mungo's with Dumbledore.

I have been recuperating honestly here for more than three weeks, and my wounds are no longer so painful. The skin and flesh eroded by black magic have finally begun to scab, and my right arm can barely be used flexibly.

The cool night wind was blowing against my skin, and I felt a little cold in the half-dream and half-awake state. I wanted to move the quilt up, but my sleepiness made me unconscious, so my hand couldn't move a bit.

Drowsy, I heard the sound of something rubbing against the ground.The bed sank slightly, and my fingertips touched a foreign object, which pressed against my body. I had difficulty breathing, and half-opened my eyes uncomfortably.By the moonlight, I saw a black snake, it crawled up my body along my bed, its icy scales scratched my neck, and its snake kiss touched the wounds on my shoulders and arms.

"Hmm... Nagini?" I murmured dully.

Doesn't seem like much...

It raised its head, its scarlet eyes flashing coldly.

The curtains were closed again under the blowing of the wind, and my eyes were suddenly dark, and I couldn't see anything, only the tactile sense that had been improved several times remained.

The weight on my body was getting lighter, and the snake crawled down from my body. At the same time, I heard the sound of footsteps close at hand. I tried to open my eyes wide to adapt to the dim environment quickly, but I could only see the bed. A shadow on the side.

Cold hands covered my eyes, and I was forced into darkness again.

I feel like I might be having a nightmare.

The left hand covering the chest was gently removed by him in the next second. I was so dazed that I was even grateful that the person in the dream knew to help me correct this sleeping position that was prone to nightmares.

My ring finger was covered with something.The hands covering my eyes also left, I still wanted to open my eyes to see everything clearly, but the comfortable wind blew my face, somehow, the strong drowsiness suddenly swept over me again, I couldn't open it no matter what open your eyes.

"Sleep a little longer." His voice was smoky, indifferent but with a strange dullness, "Good dream."

He paused suddenly, maybe after a long hesitation, I even thought I was about to wake up from another complete dream, and then fell into the next dream.

"Sweet dreams," he repeated, adding, somewhat stiffly, "my Ashley."